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Recently got back from a short trip to Miami Beach with my family.
Woke up at sunrise on our last morning there to sneak in some drone flying at South Pointe Park.
Feedback, particularly when it comes to the color grading, is welcome!

As a certified, commercial drone pilot, these "rogue drone pilot" incidents concern me. For the past two years, I've been approached by curious bystanders and others who are annoyed with drones altogether while conducting drone operations. The negative drone reports people read and hear about in the news stays with them and helps shape their opinion about my career choice. Many feel emboldened to express their belief that drones invade their privacy or are disturbed by their noise...still another person told me she wanted to shoot my drone out of the sky. The bottom line is that the actions of one can have an affect on many and rogue drone operations will result in my job becoming more difficult. Not only in dealing with drone bias in the public, but in additional regulations that are enacted out of fear and ignorance, holding everyone accountable for the actions of a few.
I teach introductory drone courses at a local community college and plan to use this incident to educate participants on drone ethics and why ethics matter. In my classroom, there is no preference toward the commercial pilot over the hobbiest - I consider us all to be "enthusiasts" and that is what brings us all together. Whether the Gatwick incident was conducted by a hobbiest or commercial pilot, the situation received international media coverage and it will impact every one of us in some way. We need to work together and find a way to reach out and educate those who fly rogue operations out of ignorance or willful disregard for rules of law and overall safety.

Hello All,
I'm happy to share and do so based upon my personal experience with both entities...Please be mindful that my experience with said entiteis just may be an exception...
Presison Hawk in my opinion is only interested in raising investment money to acquire small potential startups to increase their product line and company size for an enventual buyout...
....While they do provide you with leads when their insurance clients need damage inspections, they allow and support a strict inflexible appointment schedule and have provided no (reply) communication to inquires re same when contacted...
....For example....I fly the Phoenix Valley and surrounding areas...I have contacted Presicion Hawk and relayed to them that it can be literally too dangerous to set an appointment after 9am during the months of June-Sept...
...I sent them proof that it can be 90 degrees at sunrise alone and an appt from 9am on can cause even the most climatized pilot to collapse from heat exhaustion, dehydration even sun stoke....or...try climbing on top of a roof that been baking in 115 degree temp for hours....use your imagination from there...
...Bottom line...I requested more than once that under such weather conditions the pilot should be able to re-schedule an appointment at a time that is convenient for all, so long as the inspection takes place within 48hrs of the claim report...I got no response...
...I am confident that so long as the insurance company remains a client of Presicion Hawk they will always be in control of the inspection schedule regardless of any potentioal weather dangers...their only goal is to satisfy the claiment's inspection ASAP after a major disaster...the pilot flys at their own risk...notwithstanding the fact that the rates are dreck...
...As for Droners.IO (hereinafter DRO)...I signed up Feb 2017 and after several attempts to win a bid I have only been contacted once and the client never followed thru...Here's my take away...
...The potentioal client in most cases knows nothing about the drone business and there is no tutorial for said client to help acquaint them with what we can or cannot do.... and it's clear as to why...If the potential client knew that we don't fly at night or over stadiums w/o waivers, or over vehicle and pedestrian traffic or freeways or when it's too cold, hot or windy or just won't violate Federal Regs in general at all, they would have no clients!...
...So....you waste time educating the potential client (via e-mail) as to what and how you can accomplish their mission safely and within FAA Regs, only to find out that they really don't care about any of it....
...All the potential client wants to hear is that you will capture the footage and/or stills they want, how they want, where they want, when they want at the price they want or get lost....they will eventually hire a starving or greedy rogue pilot that will not only undercut your rates but think nothing of breaking FAA Regs ...
....After I passed my recurrent 107 test on 12.5.18, DRO requested an update...I sent them the only document I was told there would be to prove I have passed said test and have a new experation date that is clearly visible and that there would be no ID update....they would not except said doc...even after I confirmed with the FAA Regional Office that the doc was indeed the appropriate doc and informed DRO of same and provided the FAA's number so they could vet the info, DRO would not except it...On my 3rd submission try, I requested DRO to inform me as to exactly what doc they needed to confirm my active status...I have yet to get an response...
....Needless to say I have since stopped checking my DRO account...My time is better spent prospecting not blind bidding against law breaking rogue pilots....
...As I mentioned earlier, this could all have been an abberation, just one pilot with bad luck and everyone else is pissing in high cotton...but I doubt it...I don't know if this helps but it should be at least a little thought provoking....
....At the end of the day, it just may be more cost and time effective to generate your own leads and not deal with any of these hubs where the tail always wags the dog!
...The Very Best To All This New Year!
"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves." Abraham Lincoln

Hi @Jesse Austin welcome to the forum. Unfortunately anyone and everyone can fly a drone and thinks they can hang out a shingle to be a commercial operator. That’s not to say that there’s not a ton of value in your aviation experience, it’s just not likely the reason for your success in the commercial UAS industry.
The key is aligning your experience with a specific application of the UAV that solves a problem well enough to get paid to do it. The value to the customer is in the data the UAV collects, not necessarily how it is flown. Most missions that require a high level of precision are autonomous.
As with most things in aviation it’s about practice, the number of hours doesn’t mean the same thing in the UAV world as it does in general aviation. You just need to get a UAV and learn to fly it in all orientations in a variety of environments, near and around trees and power lines, over water, close to tall structures etc.. we have tried quite a few people who were accomplished at flying at an RC Park that weren’t very good in real world missions.
Marketing your aviation professionalism will likely get you through the door but it won’t close the deal, that depends on the value of the data you collect and for that you either have to be the expert or partner with someone who is. So your experience has a lot to do with finding the right partner who recognizes that your overall approach to aviation greatly improves your likelihood of completing successful missions.
Unfortunately there aren’t that many successful commercial UAV companies out there. Many of the ones that are were formed by professionals such as yourself and know that the entry level pay is not nearly what it needs to be to attract that level of experience.
I realize that this sounds negative, it’s not, a lot of people will recommend any number of online resources that connect those with drones with companies looking for operators and make it sound much rozier than it is. There’s a pony in this industry somewhere, you just need to catch it. If you’ve ever tried to catch a pony you know it takes a carrot, a rope and a lot of patience.

Living and working in Crested Butte, Colorado, I run into this all the time. Even though I can find no specific directions from the FAA, I have assumed flights should be treated like flying around tall buildings or towers. Stay within 400' of the mountainside or summit. One advantage to such flights is that there are rarely many people or aircraft to deal with.
Hopefully, someone else with more specific knowledge will chime in.

Hi, I’m new to the drone community. I have two birds in my fleet: a Phantom 4 Pro v2 and a Mavic 2 Pro.
I’m near Bastrop, TX (central Texas) and I’m in the process of developing a business model that will turn this flying hobby into a full time business.
I’m a systems engineer and consultant full time at Microsoft and specialize in Dynamics 365 ERP platform and am an Microsoft Cloud Architect.
Areas of interest are technology, Hank (my Belgian Malinois working K9), self-defense, crossfit, travel, gun ranges, and photography.

Great article @Philip Moore. Thanks for sharing.
We offer another case study on what it takes to be a serious drone cinematographer. Check out our interview with Mike Mazur, a former Drone Pilot Ground School student and owner of Diario Films: https://uavcoach.com/diario-films-interview/
He started out working in Manhattan in post-production. From there he learned about shooting and directing, and built up his skill set to the point where he is now, as the owner of his own production company, Diario Films. Mike has worked with artists like Kesha and Steely Dan, and he’s also flown missions for non-profits in Guatemala and elsewhere around the world.
"One thing I did that helped me get work, and really distinguish myself, was that when I upgraded my cinematography services and started adding drone services as well, I made sure to send out emails to my contacts and let them know, and share my aerial reel," Mike told UAV Coach.

Hello. Nice to see another fellow YUNEEC pilot here. I have the Typhoon H. I'm on another forum that talks just about YUNEEC drones, there's tons of helpful people there. This link will take you to the website, just scroll down until you see the tornado forum section.
http://www.yuneecpilots.com/
Also, to echo what @Av8Chuck said, learning your drone is very important. Knowing what everything does and how it works is worth understanding. There's this guy I watch on youtube who does a great job on some how to videos on drone filming. I've found him very helpful. If you're new to drones, he has lots of tips and methods to get your footage to look its best.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9tnwOsaA7T29VuUCuXvr7g
Wishing you the best. If you have anymore questions, just ask. You can also PM me if you have any questions about YUNEEC drones or just ask on the forum.

Giorgio, I think the response you received from KCAA is clear, at least to me. There is no permitting process at the moment and you are not cleared to fly. In addition, since you are travelling TO Kenya, their customs inspectors might even impound the a/c. Unless you get clear and specific authorization to enter the country with your drone and fly it there, I would not attempt it.

One of the best uses of drone photo/video of residential properties for sale is the use of Point-of-Interest and Reveal videos which highlight the houses AND the surrounding area of land. There are many more, of course. Here is an example of what I mean:
Regards,
Jay Burnham
North Shore Drone Services

Aside from "avoid weddings", my advice would be to establish a half day rate which should be roughly 2/3 of a full day rate. A day in the videography industry is generally 10 hours with an hour for lunch (+/- an hour depending on market). So if you're going to commit to to a wedding, your time alone should be a minimum of a half day rate. You may also consider an hourly rate for post processing. The logic behind a day rate versus an hourly or final project time rate is that you're tied up for several hours before, during, and after the ceremony whether you're shooting or not.
MedicFL1 was spot on with insurance (see my "avoid weddings" comment). You also have to factor in amortization of the drones, your cameras, software, computer hardware, your insurance costs, etc. These all play into your bottom line.
As for how much to charge, I think it totally depends on the market. Where I operate, drones are not well established in terms of providing value, so I can't get away with charging the same as my competitors in Denver 90 miles to the south.

We just interviewed UAV Coach flight training instructor Cher Brown about her experiences adding drones to her operations as a professional photographer / videographer at KEVA Creative, a company she owns and runs along with her husband Terry Brown.
Read the interview with Cher to get her advice on opening your own business, adding drones to an existing business, and also to learn more about how she approaches drone education.
Let us know what you think here in this topic, or chime in to share your own insights from experiences you've had adding drones to your photography / videography work.

Make it plain, four hours inclusive, total to include the photos and videos. This is not an if / or type of thing. Your paying me $1500 for my time, equipment (Drone and cameras) Photos and video.
Editing, in fact, can be additional charges, per hour.
Exactly how many edits does the customer get? Your time, computer and work product are your money. That doesn't come free. Suggest one edit.
Don't forget to have and charge for insurance. Last thing you need is some low life coming after you for purposely getting too close to your drone "because he was drunk" (insert any money hungry grubbing lie here.)
Let them choose the method of delivery but include each items cost.
I have heard of too many getting taken to the cleaners because of what they did not have in writing beforehand.
Your knowledge, skills and abilities are valuable. Get the fair price for them.
This is a contract situation.

Well, I certainly appreciate all of the responding comments to my initial question. Personally I like Dave Pitman's idea of designating certain days and a limited number of permits. Perhaps they could require a drone pilot to have their FAA Part 107 Certificate so the pilot would know not to fly over people or harass wildlife, for example. Anyway, I'm getting so frustrated with all of the varied restrictions by each State, County, or small town, that I'm about to sell my DJI PHANTOM 4 PRO with all of my accessories to the highest bidder and abandon finishing the Part 107 course that I paid $250 for, and abandon my hopes to perhaps provide drone photography services to my community in ways I know would be beneficial. If things aren't changed soon I'm afraid this rapidly growing drone industry will take a downward dive that will devastate everyone one involved. Like most investments, maybe it's best we all sell out while we can maybe get something out of our investment. As you can tell, I'm pretty frustrated as I've only been able to fly my drone twice in the past year due to all of the restrictions. I'm one who will do all I can to adhere to all of the varied restrictions so, for me, it's almost impossible to ever find a place where drone photography is allowed. PLEASE, FAA, HELP ALL OF US THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THIS 'RAPIDLY GROWING INDUSTRY' BEFORE IT COLLAPSES TO NOTHING.

Good luck with your program.
We've been doing that here in California for the last three years. Before the introduction of 107 most of the instruction was STEM related with little hands on experience. Surprisingly after 107 the class morphed into two parts, teaching students to pass the 107 with considerably more hands on primary flight training and a more application specific curriculum of using drone in industry.
Its easy to see how this will extend into more about remote sensing and the sorts of problems that can help solve. Its challenging to find the right balance, high school students get bored really quickly...

Ooh, I know this one
It's a trick question.
You can't find visibility requirements on a sectional chart. The minimum visibility for any sUAS operations is always 3 SM, no matter where you are flying. It's a regulations question, not a sectional chart question.
The chart is a red herring meant to throw you off.
One of the many ways the FAA tries to trick test-takers!
(cc: @robolizard222)

No new threads, but this is a great resource, so thanks for hopping into the conversation, @PJKirkpatrick.
Good news re: the Part 107 rules here in the U.S....you don't need to file any additional paperwork if you're inspecting a tower and flying over 400 feet, as long as you're within a 400 ft. radius horizontally around and above the topmost part of the tower (assuming you're not getting into Class E airspace). Here's an illustration below to reinforce: